Leading psychiatrists have expressed concern at how quickly safeguards can be removed from assisted suicide legislation and questioned whether it can truly protect the most vulnerable.

In a letter to the Irish Times, Dr Eric Kelleher and Prof Anne Doherty of the College Of Psychiatrists said the experience of Canada demonstrated the reality of the ‘slippery slope’.

“Although those with mental illness alone were initially excluded from accessing physician assisted suicide and euthanasia in 2016, it was subsequently argued that this was discriminatory. Canadian legislators must now determine criteria for those with mental illness, and which suicides are to be assisted and which are to be prevented”.

They added that mental illness, primarily depression, is common in those with chronic illness and cancer, while certain mental disorders can lead to abnormal beliefs about one’s health or longevity. “If those with such disorders develop a terminal illness as set out in the Bill, they may be especially vulnerable to dying from assisted suicide or euthanasia as a consequence of their mental state,” they wrote.